38-12 drubbing by the Sydney Roosters in the World Club Series encounter at Langtree Park on Friday.

The Aussies first try came on the back of a St Helens drop out, even though it looked as though they had initially kept the ball in open play, the second followed a fortuitous ricochet and there was a suggestion that the third resulted from a forward pass.

But having said that Kerion Cunningham’s boys were forced to play second fiddle for large parts of the game and were given a sharp lesson by the NRL Minor Premiership winners in cut-throat finishing and finely-tuned organisation.

More worrying, though, is the fact that in their opening three meaningful fixtures - two in the Super League and one on the world stage - Saints have conceded 98 points and it is something they will need to address as quickly as possible on the training field ahead of Friday’s trip to Hull KR.